Southern Christian University

Acts Class Session #04

James A. Turner

Hello students. We begin our lesson at this time with Acts chapter five. I hope you remember from chapter four the generosity of those Jewish Christians in Jerusalem and Judea how that they were selling houses and land and bringing the price and laying it down at the apostles' feet, that distribution might be made to the people. They were surely showing a fine spirit in regard to assisting those that were from afar to be able to stay and hear the teaching of the apostles and engaged in the evangelistic work that the church was doing. And the last two verses tells about how that Joseph, a man who the apostles had surnamed Barnabas because, of his peculiar ability to comfort and exhort people, and he was a Levite. That means that he was a person of the tribe that was of the spiritual leaders. Barnabas owed a field on the island of Cyprus, and he sold it and brought the money and laid it down at the apostles’ feet.

Chapter Five

In the first part of chapter five we read that Ananias and Sapphira sold a possession and they brought only a part of the price and laid it at the apostles' feet and said that they had brought all, and they were struck dead because they lied to the Holy Spirit. No commandment had been given by the Lord to the effect that any person had to sell their possessions. It was of their own freewill that many of the disciples were doing so. It is stated well by Peter that in the first place they did not have to sell their property, and in the second place they could have given any portion of their property that they wanted to, that it was still in their power to do what they wanted to do with the money. But the point is, they brought part of the price, claiming that they had brought all. They were killed by the Holy Spirit for their lying about what they had done.

Acts 5:1, "But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession." And notice that, sold a possession which puts us on notice that they did not sell everything that they had, but they sold a possession, and that implies that they had other possessions. "And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Spirit to keep back part of the price of the land?" Notice that they are not struck dead because they did not bring all of it. Verse four, they did not have to sell it in the first place. In the second place, they could have given what portion they wanted to give, but they sinned when they lied about what they had done. How did Peter know that they had lied about their giving? The apostles had all of the nine miraculous gifts, those nine miraculous gifts maybe plus, that are listed in I Corinthians 12:4-11, and one of those gifts was the discerning of spirits, and so Peter knew what they had done. Verse three again, "Peter said to Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the price of the land?" I wonder if that means that they thought they could lie about it and the Holy Spirit would not know they had lied about it. At least it looks like they were in some way putting the Holy Spirit to a test. And Peter said, why has Satan filled thy heart to lie to the Holy Spirit?

What about that? Does that mean that Satan made Ananias and Sapphira do what they did? Absolutely not. A good reference that I believe every Christian should memorize is I Corinthians 10:13. In the previous verses, Paul had called attention to a number of things that the people of Israel had done that were wrong, and how that they were punished for their wrong doing. And in verse twelve he says, "Let him that think that he standeth take heed lest he fall." And then verse thirteen is the verse that if you do not know it by memory, please let me encourage you to memorize it. "There hath no temptation taken you but such that is common to man. God is faithful who will not allow you to be tempted above that you are able but will with the temptation give a way of escape that you may be able to bear it." That is a wonderful promise made to every child of God, that if you want to do right, the Lord will see to it that you can do right! In James chapter 1:13, James says, "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: For God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man. But when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: And sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." Bringeth forth spiritual death.

And in John the tenth chapter Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice, and they know me, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish; and no one is able to snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them unto me, is greater than all; and no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand." I may not have gotten it right, but we will turn and read from John the tenth chapter, beginning with verse twenty-six, "But ye believe not, because ye are not my sheep." And he is talking to the leaders of the Jewish people. They have come around to Jesus and said, "How long dost thy hold us in suspense? If thou art the Christ, tell us plainly. And Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: The works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me. But ye believe not, because ye are not my sheep." Now, notice about the Lord's people. "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them unto me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one. The Jews took up stones again to stone him." John is referring to the rulers and the supposed spiritual leaders of the Jewish people, especially the scribes and the Pharisees and the Sadducees as the Jews. These references teach that there is conditional security in Christ! This passage, from John, has been used to teach false doctrine, but we need to use it correctly and let people know that there is absolutely conditional security in Christ. And just as long as Christian people hear the voice of Christ and follow him, the devil does not have the power to get a child of God out of Christ's hand and out of God's hand.

But every person is a free moral agent. So after a person has obeyed the gospel, he can do as Ananias and Sapphira did and be in a lost condition again. They have lied to the Holy Spirit. "How is it that thou hast conceived this thing in thy heart? Thou hath not lied unto men, but unto God." Notice verse three again, “why hath Satan filled thy heart to lie to the Holy Spirit?” So the devil does not have the power to take over the heart of the Christian unless the Christian is willing for Satan to have his way. They did not have to give way to the temptation of Satan, but they did. Notice the different statements that are made about what they had done. In verse three, "Filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Spirit." And then in the latter part of verse four, "Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God." The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Godhead, and when they lied to the Holy Spirit they did not lie unto men but unto God. "And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: And great fear came on all that heard it. And the young men arose, and they carried him out, and buried him." There was no funeral. They just carried him out and buried him. When his wife came in three hours later, she did not know that her husband was dead and buried. "And it was about the space of three hours after when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in. And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much. And Peter said unto her, How is that ye have agreed together to try the Spirit of the Lord?"

So it looks like this person is referred to three times, “lied to the Holy Spirit”, verse three, the latter part of verse four, “did not lie unto men but unto God,” and here in verse nine, agreed together “to try the Spirit of the Lord,” but all three referring to the Holy Spirit. And it looks like Peter knew that she would also fall down dead. "Behold the feet of them that have buried thy husband are at the door, and they shall carry thee out. And she fell down immediately at his feet and gave up the ghost: And the young men came in, and found her dead, and, they carried her out, and buried her with her husband." It looks like the young men had just finished burying her husband when they came in and found her dead. And they carried her out and buried her by her husband. "And great fear came upon the whole church, and upon all that heard these things." We have already read about in chapter four of that persecution being brought against Peter and John, how they were brought before the Sanhedrin and commanded not to teach anymore in the name of Christ. But they had replied by saying, "Whether it be right to hearken unto you rather than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we saw and heard," Acts 4:19-20. And they continued their teaching.

And here in chapter five, they arrested all of the apostles and put them in jail, and the angel of the Lord releases them and tells them to go to the temple to teach the people to speak the words of this life, and they did. When the court convened to try them, they send for them, and they found the prison doors locked and the keepers standing at the doors, but when they opened them, they did not find the apostles. This is a very interesting story. Coming back to the first part of chapter five, does the Holy Spirit striking these people dead, Ananias and Sapphira, remind you of anything in the Old Testament scriptures? It should. Do you remember from the tenth chapter of the book of Leviticus, how that Aaron and his sons were going through that period of ordination to become priests, which was to be for seven days. During this time period two of the sons of Aaron Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire, unholy fire, to the Lord. And because they did, God consumed them. First notice from Leviticus chapter 8:33, "That ye shall not go out from the door of the tent of meeting for seven days, until the days of your ordination are completed: For it will take seven days to ordain you." And so that is the instruction that has been given to Aaron. He and his sons were to stay in the tent of meeting until seven days until the time of their ordination was complete, and before those ten days were completed, two of his sons offered fire that the Lord hath not commanded them, and the Lord devoured them.

Reading from chapter ten, beginning with verse one of Leviticus, "And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer, and put fire on it, and laid incense on it, and offered unholy fire before the Lord." I believe the American Standard says strange fire. I am reading here from the Revised Standard Version. "And offered unholy fire before the Lord, such as he had not commanded them." God has always given instruction as to what his people are to do in respect to worship. He has never left men to grope in darkness as about how they are to worship Him, and men are to worship as God has instructed. And here the Lord had not commanded for them to do what they did. They did something other than what the Lord had commanded, and we need to learn the lesson that when we do in worship something which the Lord has not commanded us to do, that we are doing the wrong thing. And here the Lord devoured them with fire. Verse two, "Fire came forth from the presence of the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord. Then Moses said to Aaron, This is what the Lord said, I will show myself holy among those who are near me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace." And Moses called the sons of Aaron's uncle to come near, and carry them out of the camp, which they did. And notice what he told Aaron and the other two sons of Aaron. Leviticus 10:6, "And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons, Do not let the hair of your heads hang loose, do not rend your clothes; lest ye die, and lest wrath come upon all the congregation: But let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the Lord hath kindled. And do not go out from the door of the tent a meeting, lest ye die: For the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you. And they did according to the word of Moses."

Another Old Testament account is about how that the Kohathites, one of the families of the tribe of Levites, the Kohathites were to carry the holy vessels on poles between two of them. When it was time to take down the tabernacle, the priests were to go in and take the holy vessels and cover them up properly and put the staves in, and then the Kohathites were to carry the holy vessels on their shoulders between two of them. Notice from Numbers 4:5, "And when the camp is to set out, Aaron, and his sons shall go in and take down the veil of the screen, and cover the ark of the temple with it. Then they shall put on it a covering of goat skin and spread over it a cloth of blue, and shall put in its poles. And over the table of the bread of the Presence, they would cover up all the holy vessels and put the poles in those holy vessels. And after they had done that, the son of Kohath was to carry them." Look down to 4:15, "And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary, and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to carry thee: But they shall not touch the holy things, lest they die." So they were not to touch those holy vessels. They were to carry them by the poles on their shoulders. Do you remember how that many years later that David wanted to carry the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem and they made a mistake in not carrying the ark of the covenant properly? They put the ark on an ox cart. And they came to the threshing floor of Nathan, and one of the sons of the priest, one was going before and one of the oxen stumbled and he reached up to try to prevent the ark from falling off the cart, and God smote him there because he put his hand on the ark.

Let us read that from II Samuel chapter six, beginning with verse three, "And they carried the ark of God upon a new cart, and brought it." Do you remember that the ark of God was taken by the Philistines and the trouble that they had, and finally they decided that they had better carry the ark back to the land of Israel, which they did, but it never did go back to Shiloh. Shiloh was never a full house after that because the ark of the covenant was not carried back. And then finally in the days of David, he wanted to carry the ark to Jerusalem and put it in a tent there. So reading from II Samuel 6:3, "They carried the ark of God upon a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab which was on the hill: And Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab were driving the new cart with the ark of God. And Ahio went before the ark. And David and all the house of Israel were making merry before the Lord and with all manner of musical instruments, with harps, and tambourines and cymbals. And when they came to the threshing floor of Nachon, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there; because he put forth his hand to the ark." Now do you remember that reading in the fourth chapter of Numbers, but they must not touch the holy thing, verse fifteen, “lest they die?” And so here Uzzah touched the Ark of the Covenant, and God smote him because he did. And David was afraid to try to carry the ark any farther. They carried it to the house of Obededom, and God blessed the house of Obededom.

At a later date David got around to doing his homework and found out how that the ark was supposed to be carried. I guess it had been so long since the ark had been moved, that most of them had forgotten about how that the ark was to be carried. In I Chronicles chapter fifteen, we find that David did his homework and learned that the Levites were to carry the ark of God. The second time, they carried it properly and were successful in carrying the ark to Jerusalem and putting it in the tent that David had set up for it. Reading from I Chronicles chapter fifteen, "David built houses for himself in the city of David, and he prepared a place for the ark of God, and pitched a tent for it. Then David said, No one but the Levites may carry the ark of God." And the priests came from the descendants of Aaron, and the other families of the Levites were assistants to the priests. And the Koathites were the ones that carried the holy vessels. "Then David said, no one but the Levites may carry the ark of God: For the Lord chose them to carry the ark of the Lord, and to minister to him forever." And so David assembled the priests and the Levites and they carried the ark properly and were successful in carrying the ark to Jerusalem and putting it in the tent that David had prepared for it.

In Numbers the sixteenth chapter, we read about how that Korah, Dathan and Abiram led two hundred and fifty other men to follow them, and they thought they were going to usurp the office of priesthood. They said to Moses and Aaron, you have gone too far, you take too much to yourselves. Verse three, "And they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and they said to them, Ye have gone too for, for all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them: Why then did ye exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?" And they thought that they were going to take over the priesthood, and only the descendants of Aaron were to be priests. And in talking to them, Moses told them that they had gone too far. Verse eight, "And Moses said to Korah, Hear, now, ye sons of Levi: Is it too small a thing that the God of Israel hath separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to do service in the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them? And he hath brought you near to him, and all thy brethren and sons of Levi with you: And would ye seek the priesthood also? Therefore it is against the Lord that ye and all your company have gathered together: And what is Aaron, that ye murmur against him?" They thought that they were murmuring against Aaron when actually they were murmuring against the Lord. And on this occasion Moses said to the people, if these men die a common death, you will know that the Lord has not appeared to me, but if the Lord creates some new thing and the ground opens up, and swallows them up and they go down alive into sheol, you will know that these men have despised the Lord. Beginning with 16:29, "And the Lord opened the earth and swallowed them up." And then the two hundred and fifty that had their censers, and they thought they were going to offer their incense offering to the Lord, and look at what God did to them. Verse thirty-five, "And fire came forth from the Lord, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men offering the incense." Do you remember how Paul said that we need to know the Old Testament scriptures (Romans 15:4; II Timothy 3:16-17)? So this is not the first time that people were struck dead by God, for doing the wrong thing.

Now back to Acts 5:12, "And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people." And I want you to remember again about those signs and wonders, that no miracles were done by anyone except the apostles until after the apostles laid their hands on the seven men that were chosen to take care of the distribution of food to the Grecian widows. And so God had performed great signs and wonders among the people. Verse twelve again, "And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; and they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch. But of the rest durst no man join himself to them: Howbeit the people magnified them." The pronoun they and them refer back to the apostles. They were in Solomon's porch. And the people were afraid to join themselves to them. But the people magnified them when they saw the signs and wonders and all that they were doing. Acts 5:14, "And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women." Please remember that we have already read in Acts 4:4, “But many of them that heard the word believed, and the number of men came to be about five thousand.” It must have been at that time like it is today, nearly everywhere more women obey than men. But that was their method of counting back there, they usually counted by the men. So there must have been ten thousand people in number given in Acts 4:4. And now here in 5:14, "And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women." So take ten thousand and add multitudes to that, and certainly we can see the great increase of Jewish believers here in the early days of the church. Verse fifteen, "Insomuch that they even carried out the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that as Peter came by at the least his shadow might overshadow some of them." Now whether or not they were healed by the shadow of Peter or not, we are not told. Now, in respect to Jesus, you remember that the people reasoned if they could but touch the hem of his garment, they would be healed, and one reference I remember says that all that touched were healed. I would like for you to give close attention to verse sixteen. "And there also came together the multitude from the cities round about Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them that were vexed with unclean spirits: And they were healed every one." Have you known of any so-called healing service of today that has that characteristic, “and they were healed every one.” It is very obvious that that would not be true of healing services today. Why? Because that the miraculous age of the church, which is spoken of as the childhood age of the church (I Corinthians 13:8-13; Ephesians 4:7-16) is over. The word of Christ had been completely given, and miracles are over (I Corinthians 13:9-10; James 1:25)! The primary purpose of the miraculous was to aid in the giving and confirming of the law of Christ, the New Testament (Hebrews 2:3-4; I Corinthians 2:10-13; II Corinthians 3:4-6). We will probably get around to talking about that more in detail sometime later.

Acts 5:17, , "But the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, which is of the sect of the Sadducees, and they were filled with jealousy, and laid hands on the apostles, and put them in public ward." Why were the Sadducees filled with jealousy against the apostles to the point that they put them in prison or put them in the common jail on this occasion? They were teaching the resurrection gospel, and the Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection of the dead nor spirits or angels. Do you remember the question that they asked Jesus during his personal ministry? According to their story there was a woman that had seven brothers as husbands, and she outlived all seven of them! Please turn with me to Matthew 22:23, "On that day there came to him Sadducees, they that say there is no resurrection, and they asked him, Saying, Teacher, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. Now there were with us seven brethren." I think that their story is a lie! Don’t you think that some of them would have gotten suspicious? But anyway if it is true they still reached the wrong conclusion. "Now there were with us seven brethren: And the first married and deceased, and, having no seed, left his wife unto his brother: And in like manner the second also, and the third, unto the seventh. And after them all the woman died." They thought that they had a question that Jesus could not begin to answer. According to their reasoning seven brothers would be fighting, ready to fight over one woman! Verse twenty-eight, "In the resurrection therefore whose wife shall she be of the seven for they all had her? But Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as angels in heaven. But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?"

The quotation from Exodus 3:6, when Moses saw the burning bush, and he turned to see why it was not consumed, and the Lord spoke to him and told him that I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. The Jewish people from the lineage of Abraham came through Isaac and then through Isaac's son Jacob. I believe we have already discussed how that Abraham did not want to heed Sarah's instruction. When Isaac was weaned, his wife Sarah saw the son of the handmaiden Ishmael taunting her son Isaac. And she said to Abraham, “Cast out the handmaiden and her son, for he is not going to inherit with my son.” Abraham was reluctant to do it, but God told him to do what she had told him to do, for in Isaac shall thy seed be called. Isaac married Rebekah and she was barren, and Isaac prayed that she might be able to bear, and God answered his prayer, and Rebekah became pregnant with twins, and they were giving her trouble. She prayed to the Lord, and God told her that two nations were in her womb. In the ninth chapter of Romans, Paul talks about that, how that God made a choice before those twins were born, that the Jewish people would come of the descendants of Jacob and not of Esau. The descendants of Esau were the Edomites, but they were not counted as Jewish people. After Abraham's wife Sarah died, Genesis chapter twenty-three, and then in Genesis twenty-five, we read that he married Keturah and had six sons by her, but they were not counted as Jewish people. So God described himself to Moses, “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob” and on down through David. I hope you do not mind me turning to some of these Old Testament references. I think we will have plenty of time to do so and still be able to study the book of Acts in a pretty detailed way. So they laid hands on the apostles and put them in public ward.

Acts 5:19, "But an angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them out, and said, Go ye, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life." And I believe I asked you to notice carefully about the angels and see if they are not distinct from human beings. We have quite a number of brethren who are speaking of angels as just being messengers. And they leave the impression, at least on the minds of the people, that men can be angels! Well, I want to know if there are any men today that could do what the angels did here? An angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors and brought them out. "Go ye, and stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life. And when they heard this, they entered into the temple about daybreak, and taught. But the high priest came, and they were with him, and called the council together, and all the Senate of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison house to have them brought." It looks like this must have been a pretty full court, the Sanhedrin court, the highest court of the Jews, consisted of seventy men in all. And so they have come together, ready to try these men because they had strictly charged them, Peter and John, not to teach anymore in the name of Christ. Acts 4:18 reads, "And they called them, and charged them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered, Whether it is right to hearken unto you rather than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we saw and heard." And so they declared on that occasion, we are going to continue our teaching, which thing they did. And so here all of the apostles are put in prison. They are put in prison, and the angel of the Lord releases them and tells them to go into the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life. That would be telling them to teach the gospel of Christ, which is the words of this life. "And when they heard this, they entered into the temple about daybreak and taught." I guess we will stop there. Our time is about up, and we will begin with verse twenty-one. A brief recess was taken.

We are now ready to pick up with Acts 5:21, "And when they heard this they entered into the temple about daybreak, and taught. But the high priest came, and they that were with him, and called the council together, and all the Senate of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison house to have them brought. But the officers that came, found them not in the prison, and they returned and told, Saying, The prison house we found shut in all safety, and the keepers standing at the doors: But when we had opened, we found no man within." Again, I ask, do you think verse twenty-three stands the test of those angels being men? The angels released them and they go to the prison house, and they find it shut and locked safely, and the keeper is standing at the door! But the angel has released the apostles and told them to go back and teach in the temple the words of this life. "Now when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were much perplexed concerning them whereunto this would grow." If they had been men of truth and sincere men, they would have dismissed that court immediately, don't you think? "And there came one and told them, Behold, the men whom we put in prison are in the temple, standing and teaching the people." And especially when they heard that news, that the apostles are in the temple teaching the people. "Then the captain with the officers, and brought them but without violence: For they feared the people, lest they should be stoned." Verse twenty-six is surely strong. It indicates that they wanted to bring them with violence, but they were afraid of the people. They brought them without violence, for they feared the people lest they should be stoned.

Acts 5:27, "And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: And the high priest asked them, Saying, We strictly charge you not to teach in this name? And, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us." Note how they referred to Christ as this man's blood. We strictly charged you not to teach anything in this name, and you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching. "And intend to bring this man's blood upon us." Well, do you remember how that when they demanded that Pilate release unto them Barabbas rather than Jesus? He asked them the question, what then shall I do with Jesus who is called the Christ? And they wanted him crucified. And Pilate said, what evil hath he done? Turn to Matthew twenty-seven. Let us pick up with verse eleven. "Now Jesus stood before the governor: And the governor asked him, saying, Art thou King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest. And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing. Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee? And he gave them no answer; not even to one word; insomuch that the governor marveled greatly. Now at the feast the governor was wont to release unto the multitude one prisoner, whom they would." The feast of the Passover. "And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas." He was a thief and a murderer. "When therefore they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?" It looks like Pilate chose the worst criminal that he had, thinking that they surely would take Barabbas rather than Christ. "For he knew that for envy they had delivered him up. And while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that righteous man: For I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him. Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. But the governor answered and said unto them, Which of the two will ye that I release unto you? And they said, Barabbas. Pilate saith unto them, What then shall I do unto Jesus who is called Christ? They all say, Let him be crucified. And he said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out exceedingly, saying, Let him be crucified. So when Pilate saw that he prevailed nothing, but rather that a tumult was arising, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this righteous man: See ye to it." Pilate declared that he was innocent, but he was surely not innocent of his blood. He should have done as his wife instructed him to do, have thou nothing to do with him because I have suffered many things this day because of him. Pilate should have heeded the advice of his wife. Verse twenty-five, "And all of the people answered and said, His blood be on us, and on our children." Now it is time for the blood of Christ to be on those leaders of the Jews, who had Jesus crucified, and now they are ready to put the blame on the apostles. You intend to bring this man's blood upon us. And they had asked for his blood to be upon them and on their children.

So back to Acts 5:28, "Saying, We strictly charged you not to teach in this name? And, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us. Then Peter and the apostles answered and said, We must obey God rather than men." And from Acts 4:19 and Acts 5:29, we need to learn the lesson in a very clear way, that if civil authorities give instruction that is contrary to the law of God, that we are to let the law of God be supreme. And they said, “We must obey God rather than men.” They would have been unfaithful to God if they had obeyed the orders of the Court! And remember the statement that Peter and John made, we are not going to obey you, we are going to obey God. They said, we are going to “speak the things which we saw and heard.” So they affirmed that we are going to continue our teaching, which thing they did. And here Peter and the apostles answered, saying, “We must obey God rather than men.”

If the American people had obeyed God instead of listening to the Federal Judges of the Federal Court System about reading the scriptures and having prayers in our schools, there would not have been anything that they could have done about it if enough people had put God first rather than the Court System. Have you thought about how contradictory the Court System has been? Why don't they bring a case against the President and other leaders in government for the prayer service that they had after 9-11-01? If it is wrong to have prayer in school, why was not that spending tax money in the wrong way? Of course, they would not dare try to do anything about that, and, of course, they should not. But it shows the inconsistency, they will bring a case against a small school system where they are continuing to have prayer, and maybe read some scriptures at school. But Peter and the apostles answered and said, “we must obey God rather than men,” and anytime there is a conflict, God's word is supreme. People violate the law of God when they obey the laws of men, which are contrary to the laws of God.

Acts 5:30, "The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew, hanging him on a tree." I wish you would highlight hanging him on a tree. We know that Jesus was crucified on the cross of Calvary, but twice the apostle Peter speaks of him being hanged on a tree. This verse and also in chapter 10:39, at the house of Cornelius. Acts 10:39, "We are witnesses of all these things which he did both in the country of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom also they slew, hanging him on a tree." And further when Paul was preaching at the synagogue at Antioch of Pisidia, he referred to the Jewish people as hanging Christ on a tree. I am reading from Acts thirteen, picking up with verse twenty-eight, "And though they found no cause of death in him, yet asked they of Pilate that he should be slain. And when they had fulfilled all things that were written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a tomb." So both Peter and Paul speak of Christ as being hanged on a tree. Why do they refer to Christ being hanged on a tree? I believe we have the answer in Galatians 3:13 where Paul says, "Christ became a curse for us or it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree." And that refers back to Deuteronomy 21:23. Usually the people of Israel stoned a criminal to death, but it must have been when a criminal had committed a hideous crime that they hanged him. Reading from Galatians 3:10 where Paul says, "For as many as were under the works of the law. (the Old Testament) are under a curse: For it is written, Cursed is every one who continueth not in all things that are written in the book of the law to do them. Now that no man is justified by the law before God is evident: For the righteous shall live by faith. But the law is not of faith, but he that doeth them shall live in them." The latter statement is from Leviticus 18:5. The Old Testament law gave the promise of life, on the basis of perfection in keeping the law. But the law also said, cursed is every one that continued not in all things which were written in the book of the law to do them, Deuteronomy 27:26. None kept the law perfectly so all were left under a curse by the law.

Galatians 3:13, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law having become a curse for us: For it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree." If you have a Bible that has good references, you will have a footnote probably before the word curse, and the footnote will be Deuteronomy 21:23, and it has reference to when they hanged a person, that they were commanded to take him down before dark. Is that the reason why according to the law that burials are to take place before dark? Do you suppose that comes from Deuteronomy 21:23? Christ became a curse for us when he was crucified on the cross of Calvary. It is stated by Paul in II Corinthians 5:21, "Him who knew no sin, he made to be sin in our behalf; that we might become the righteousness of God through him." And so I believe that is the reason that Paul and Peter speak of Christ being hanged on a tree because of that reference about Christ becoming a curse in our behalf. He was counted as the worst of criminals in that sense. He died as a representative of all sinners.

Back to Acts 5:30, "The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew hanging him on a tree. Him did God exalt with his right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God hath given to them that obey him." In that first sermon, Peter told the people to, “repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” So when people are baptized into Christ for the remission of their sins, they receive an indwelling, a non-miraculous indwelling of the Holy Spirit. And Acts 5:32 is saying that, that God gives his Holy Spirit to them that obey him. "But they, when they heard this, were cut to the heart, and were minded to slay them." Now remember on Pentecost there were those who were pricked in their heart, but a very different way of what the Court here is pricked in the heart. "But they when they heard this, were cut to the heart, and were minded to slay them. And there stood up in the council, a pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in honor among all the people, and commanded to put the men forth a little while." Gamaliel was recognized as one of the greatest teachers of the Jewish people in that day and time, and in Acts twenty-two after Paul had been rescued by the soldiers, remember the people were about to kill him when he was rescued by the Roman soldiers, and then he wanted to speak to people from the castle steps, and he was given permission to do so. And in talking to those people who had been trying to kill him, Acts 22:1, "Brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defense, which I now make unto you. And when they heard that he spake unto them in the Hebrew language, they were more quiet: And he saith, I am a Jew born in Tarsus, a city of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at feet of Gamaliel, instructed according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God, even as ye are this day. And I persecuted this way unto the death binding and delivering into prisons both men and women." So Paul was brought up at the feet of Gamaliel. And you see that the council gives him honor, and heeds his advice.

Back to Acts 5:34, "But there stood up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, having honor of all the people, and commanded to put the men forth a little while; and he said unto them, Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves as touching these men what you are about to do." They were minded to slay them, verse thirty-three. And Gamaliel makes the point that if this is not from God, it will fail soon, and if it is of God, you need to be careful, and not to find yourselves fighting against God. So Gamaliel talks to the Court in private. Verse thirty-five, "And he said unto them, Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves as touching these men. What ye are about to do. For before these days rose up Theudas, giving himself out to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: Who were slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were dispersed, and came to nought. After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the day of the enrollment, and drew away some of the people after him: He also perished; and all, even as many as obeyed him, were scattered aboard. And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: For if this counsel or this work be of men, it will be overthrown. But if it is of God, ye will not be able to overthrow them; lest haply ye be found even to be fighting against God." Gamaliel, even though he was a Pharisee, and I guess going the wrong way like most of the Pharisees, but at least he had judgment enough to recognize if they were found fighting against God they would not prevail. "And to him they agreed: And when they had called the apostles unto them, they beat them, and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go."

Notice verse forty, what they did to the apostles. They beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus and let them go. The first time they just charged them, but here they beat them. Don’t you guess that they beat them thirty-nine stripes, save one. In the eleventh chapter of II Corinthians, Paul speaks of some of those things that he suffered as a Christian. And one of the things mentioned in that long list was that five times he had been beaten of the Jews forty stripes, save one. Forty was the maximum that the law allowed for them to beat a person, and evidently they cut it down to thirty-nine to make sure that they did not go over the maximum. And five times Paul had been beaten with forty stripes, save one. So do not you guess that they beat all twelve of the apostles on this occasion with thirty-nine stripes? They must have been suffering from that beating. Now notice, "They therefore departed from the presence of the counsel, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for his name." So who says that people cannot rejoice, even in suffering? You remember how James said, “counted all joy my brethren when you fall into manifold temptations or manifold trials, for the trials are of the proving of your faith, and let faith have its perfect work that you be perfect and entire, lacking nothing.” In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said that we should rejoice when we are called on to suffer in the name of Christ. Let us read from Matthew chapter five about that. Matthew 5:10 beginning, "Blessed are they that have been persecuted for righteousness' sake." So happy are they are persecuted for righteousness sake. Righteousness comes by keeping the law of God. Psalms 119:172, I believe is the verse, says that all God's commandments are for righteousness. So when people keep the commandments of God, they are righteous. "So blessed are they that have been persecuted for righteousness sake: For their’s is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall reproach you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: For great is your reward in heaven: For so persecuted they the prophets that were before you." And please remember II Timothy 3:12 where Paul said, "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." And so persecution is to be counted as a common lot for Christian people. And here the apostles were men of real faith and when they left the council they were rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. "And every day in the temple, and at home, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ." So they continued to do public teaching in the temple, and they were doing private teaching at home.

Chapter Six

"And in these days, when the number of disciples were multiplied." Back in 5:14, the believers were more added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women. And in Acts 4:4, the number of men came to be five thousand, and so the number, including the women, must have been at least ten thousand. And then 5:14, "Believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both men and women." And here Acts 6:1, "Now in these days, when the number of disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the day ministration."

It may be that their widows were being somewhat neglected in the daily ministration of food, but remember how that the people of Jerusalem and the area around Jerusalem were selling houses and land and bringing the price and laying it down at the apostles' feet, that this distribution might be made to all. And it looks like to me that this is a bad spirit manifested here on the part of the Grecian Jews against the Hebrews. The Grecian Jews would have been those Jews that had lived among Gentile people, and they come to Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost. The Christians in Jerusalem and Judaea were selling properties to make it possible for them to stay, and here there arose a murmuring of the Grecian Jews. Any time people begin to murmur, the Bible teaches that they have the wrong spirit. That was one of the things so characteristic of the people of Israel, they were continually murmuring and complaining to Moses. “And the people complained in the hearing of the Lord about their, misfortunes,” (Numbers 11:1) and “O that we had meat to eat. We remember the fish we ate in Egypt for nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic, but now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at (Numbers 11:4-6)” In the Philippian letter, Paul told the Philippian brethren to do all things without murmuring or questionings. I am reading from Philippians chapter two, beginning with verse twelve, "So then my beloved, even as ye have always obeyed. Not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Do all things without murmurings and questionings." Now, of course, he is talking about doing all those things that the Lord has commanded us to do. Whether we can understand them or not, just go ahead and do them. Have the faith and do them without murmurings and questionings. "That ye may become blameless and harmless, children of God, without blemish, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom ye are seen as lights in the world."

So it looks like that these Grecian Jews should have been thankful that those other Christians were making it possible for them to stay. Even if they were neglected, there was a better way of doing it than their murmuring about it. Anyway, the apostles state immediately that it would not be the proper thing for them to “forsake the word of God and serve tables”. "And the twelve. called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not fit that we should forsake the word of God, and serve tables." In other words, this would not be the proper thing to do, we have more important work to do! Some have been ready to conclude that the apostles had them serving tables. No such thing is stated, and here they are saying in substance, our work is important work, you can take care of this problem. We have more important work to do.

Sometimes people in the church may want the leaders of the church to do most any little thing that most anyone in the church could do when the leaders are busy and should be busy doing more important things. The elders, of the church, should see to it that others can do some of those little things. There are many others that can do just as well as the elders, and feeding and caring for the flock is more important (Acts 20:28; I Peter 5:1-4). The apostles said, "Wherefore, brethren, look ye out from among you seven men of good report, full of the Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business." So they set forth the qualifications, “seven men of good report, and full of the Spirit and wisdom.” They were not full of the Spirit in a miraculous sense, but they had that indwelling of the Spirit, and they were real men of faith, and showed that good Spirit. "But we will continue steadfastly in prayer, and in the ministry of the word." Verse four shows that is what they had been doing, and they affirmed that we are going to continue to do the work that is very important. "And the saying pleased the whole multitude: And they chose Stephen, a man full of the faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte of Antioch: Whom they set before the apostles: And when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them."

By the laying on of the apostles' hands, miraculous gifts were imparted to them as shown by what follows. We read in Acts the eighth chapter, that when Simon saw that by the laying on of the apostles' hands, miraculous gifts were given that he wanted to buy that power with money. So no signs and wonders, no miracles were performed by anyone except the apostles until after they had laid their hands on these seven men that were chosen to take care of the daily distribution of food to the Grecian widows. And I believe I read that the names indicate that most of these men, if not all of them, were from, you might say, the Grecian Jews. That indicates that that is a good principle to follow. Sometimes when there are those who think some little thing should be done, and they call on the elders of the church to see that it is done, sometimes one of the good things that the elders can do is to encourage them to solve the problem. There are many things that come up when the person that brings up what they consider to be a problem that they could take care of it, and they need to be called on to take care of it. There were evidently those of the Grecian Jews that would be well able to take care of this problem, and evidently they did. The apostles prayed and they laid their hands on them, and the problem was solved.

Acts 6:7, “And the word of God increased; and the number of disciples multiplied in Jerusalem exceedingly and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith." Do you not think that twenty thousand people would be a minimum number of the number of Jews that obeyed the gospel during the early days of the church. So even some of the leadership of the Jewish people, “a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.” "And Stephen, full of grace and power, brought great wonders and signs among the people." So you see that the seven men that the apostles laid their hands on have miraculous ability. Stephen was one of the seven. So he is full of grace and power and wrought great wonders and signs among the people. "But there arose up certain of them that were of the synagogue, called the synagogue of the Libertines." The footnote in my Bible says freeman. I believe the New International Version reads freeman. "But there were certain of the synagogue of the Libertines and of the Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and them of Cilicia and Asia diputing with Stephen." These are Grecian Jews, from Gentile cities, where they had their synagogue back home and they disputed with Stephen. "And they were not able to withstand the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spake." Remember that Stephen had miraculous power, and he was guided by the Holy Spirit in respect to his teaching. He must have had the gift of prophesy which gave him the ability to teach, and he also had the ability of performing miracles. "And they were unable to withstand the wisdom and Spirit by which he spake. Then they suborned men, who said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God." Stephen had not spoken any blasphemous words against Moses and against God. He was a very faithful man, “full of the Spirit and of wisdom,” And they were not able to withstand the wisdom by the spirit which he spake. When they could not answer him they brought the false charges against him that he had spoken blasphemous words against Moses and of God.

Acts 6:12, "And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and seized him, and brought him into the council, and set up false witnesses who said, This man ceaseth not to speak words against this holy place, and the law: For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered unto us. And all that sat in the council, fasting their eyes on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel." Now, it may be that if Stephen had taught what Jesus had taught, that the day was coming when the temple would be destroyed, but Jesus did not say that he would do it, but that the Roman armies would do it. He may have been rightly teaching that. Jesus, during his ministry, also taught that his law would be a higher law than that which belonged to the law as set forth in the latter part of Matthew chapter five. But, anyway, Stephen is not guilty of what they are saying that he is guilty of. It looks like there must have been a special providence of God as referred to in verse fifteen, "And all that sat in the council fasting their eyes on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel." We will begin with chapter seven for our next part of this Class Session. A brief recess was taken.

Chapter Seven

We are now ready to begin the study of chapter seven. The head notes in my American Standard Version reads, “Stephen seized. He makes his defense.” Actually Stephen did not defend himself. This must be in the main the same Court that had clamored for Jesus to be crucified, and they were ready to have Barabbas released, and arrogantly said, “Let his blood be upon us and on our children.” Stephen, full of wisdom by the Spirit, must have known that that Court was a determined Court and would do for him like they had done for the Lord. And instead of making a defense, he gives a brief history of the people of Israel from the call of Abraham up to the present time. He shows that those people that God had intended to be leaders of his people, that they had rejected. The brethren of Joseph rejected him, but he was still sent to be a physical savior, for his people in Egypt. And Moses, how that he was ready to be their leader but they rejected him, and that they had turned away from God and served other gods. Stephen concludes by telling them that they are “stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and in ears.” So actually what Stephen does is that he briefs the history to show that they are enemies of the Lord, and they were doing as their fathers had done, that they were rejecting the way of the Lord. But anyway, they had false witnesses to testify against Stephen. He is teaching that he is going to destroy -- that Jesus is going to destroy Jerusalem and change the customs that Moses had delivered.

Acts 7:1, "Then the high priest said, Are these things so? And he said, Brethren, and fathers hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran. And said, get thee out of thy land, from thy kindred, and come into a land which I will show thee." That is Genesis 12:2, where it is recorded that God said that to him. But notice that he says that he was in Mesopotamia before he dwelt in Haran. We do not have a set of maps in this room. Please look on your map and see the land of Mesopotamia. Abraham was in the Ur of the Chaldees when God called him. According to my reckoning, it looks like it was eight or nine hundred miles that he traveled from the Ur of the Chaldees in Mesopotamia to Haran, and he lived in Haran until his father died, and then God had him to go into the land of Canaan (Genesis 11:27-12:5).

Acts 7:3, "And said unto him, Get thee out of thy land, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I show thee. And he came out of the land of the Chaldeans, and dwelt in Haran: and from thence, when his father was dead, God removed him into his land (the land of Canaan) wherein ye now dwell. And he gave none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: And he promised that he would give it to him in his possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child." So God promised that his descendants would receive the land of Canaan, but as spoken of in Hebrews chapter eleven, these patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob confessed that they were pilgrims and strangers in the earth. They lived in that land, as sojourners in a strange land. Please turn to Hebrews chapter eleven. Let us read about Abraham first. Hebrews 11:8, "By faith Abraham when he was called, obeyed to go out to a place, which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing whither he went." Think of the great faith as shown by what Abraham did, “he went out not knowing whither he went.” How many of us would have faith to do that today? I do not think that I have that much faith. "By faith he became a sojourner in the land of promise, as in a land not his own, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath the foundations, whose builder and maker is God."

Hebrews 11:13, "These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things make it manifest that they are seeking after a country of their own. And if indeed they had been mindful of that country from whence they went out. (The Ur of the Chaldees in Mesopotamia) “they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly: Wherefore God is not ashamed of them to be called their God: For he hath prepared for them a city. By faith Abraham, being tried, offered up Isaac: And he that gladly received the promises was offering up his only begotten son. Even to him whom it was said, in Isaac shall thy seed be called. Accounting that God is able to raise even from the dead; from whence he did also in a figure received him back." And so we see the great faith of Abraham, first making that long distance from the Ur of the Chaldees to Haran, and then after his father died, it says that God removed him into this land wherein we now dwell.

Acts 7:5, "And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: Yet he promised that he would give it to him for in possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child." The only land that Abraham possessed in the land of Canaan was the land that he bought as a burying place when his wife Sarah died. And I believe that is found in Genesis chapter twenty-three. In the first part of the chapter, we read about the death of Sarah, and Abraham bought a place to bury her. Let us pick up with Genesis 23:7, "And Abraham rose up, and bowed himself to the people of the land, even to the children of Heth. And he communed with them, saying, If it be your mind that I should bury my dead out of my sight; hear me, and entreat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar, that he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he hath, which is in the end of his field; for the full price, let him give it to me in the midst of you for a possession of a burying place." Ephron told him that he would give it to him, but Abraham insisted that he wanted to pay for it. Genesis 23:17, "And the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre the field, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the borders thereof round about, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Heth, before all that went in at the gate of his city. And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre: The same is Hebron." Notice that they pronounce it today Heb-ron, but the punctuation here is He- bron. "In the land of Canaan. And the field, and the cave that is therein, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession of burying place by the children of Heth." So Abraham was a sojourner. He owned enough land, that field in the land of Machpelah was used as a family burying ground.

So back to Acts 7:6, "And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years. And the nation to whom they shall be in bondage will I judge, said God: And after that they shall come forth, and serve me in this place." The land of Canaan, and that refers back to Genesis chapter fifteen. Turn back to Genesis fifteen. God had told Abraham, Genesis 12:3, that if you do as he instructed him to do, that through his seed all families or all nations of the earth shall be blessed. And that meant that Christ would be born of the seed of Abraham, and his seed being counted through Isaac, and then through Jacob. And after Abram had been in the land of Canaan for about ten years, God appeared to him. Genesis chapter fifteen, beginning with verse one, "After these things the word of Jehovah came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram. I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. And Abram said, O Lord, Jehovah, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and he that shall be the possessor of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" Evidently a slave that was born in his house. "And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed." Think of the number of years that must have gone by from the time that they left the Ur of the Chaldeas and spent a period of time in Haran and then into the land of Canaan, and he had been in the land of Canaan now for about ten years when the Lord appears to him. He still did not have a single child. "And Abram said, Behold to me thou hast given no seed: And, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. And, behold, the word of Jehovah came unto him, saying, This man shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and number the stars, if thou be able to number them." Think now with all of the modern technology that scientists have, and they are still not able to number all the stars. But God tells Abram, to “look toward heaven and number the stars if thou be able to number them: And he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And he believed Jehovah; and he reckoned it to him for righteousness." Genesis 15:6 is a very important reference, quoted three times in the New Testament. It is quoted in the third chapter of Galatians, and quoted in the second chapter of James, and I believe it is the fourth chapter of Romans where it is quoted. So again great faith, he did not have a single child. His wife was ready to run ahead of God and gave Abraham her handmaiden Hagar to have a child by. And then when Ishmael was thirteen years of age, God gave Abram the covenant of circumcision and gave the promise again that Sarah would have a child. And so Ishmael must have been about fourteen years of age when Isaac was born. Abraham was also a man ready to show his faith by doing what God had instructed him to do. But as far as possessing the land of Canaan, he did not.

It is also in the fifteenth chapter of Genesis where God told him that his descendants would go into another land, where they would be enslaved. Genesis fifteen, beginning with verse twelve, "And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo a horror of great darkness fell upon him. And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be sojourners in a land that is not their's, and shall serve them: And they shall afflict them four hundred years; and also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: And afterward shall they come out with great substance. But thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace: And thou shalt be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: For the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full." The Amorites are used in this reference for all of the nations that were in the land of Canaan. They were all going the way of no return, but their cup of sin is not full. The Lord knows that they are not going to turn, and that he would bring the people of Israel back in the fourth generation to destroy the nation in Canaan. But that fourth generation rebelled (Numbers chapters thirteen and fourteen) and it was the fifth generation that went to Canaan under the leadership of Joshua and inherited the land of Canaan.

Genesis 15:19, And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a flaming torch that passed between these pieces. And in that day Jehovah made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given thee this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates." Please remember that when you read about the great river, that it is talking about the river Euphrates. That was the northern extreme of territory of the land of Canaan. "The Kenites, and the Kenizites, and the Kadmonites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites."

And then chapter sixteen tells about their running ahead of God, and the birth of Ishmiel. Okay. Back to Acts 7:7. "And the nation to which they shall be in bondage will I judge, saith God, (Egypt) and after that shall they come forth, and serve me in this place, and he gave him the covenant of circumcision." That is Genesis chapter seventeen, that God gave him the covenant of circumcision, and Abraham did that same day to do as God had instructed him to do. I am reading from Genesis chapter seventeen, beginning with verse nine, "And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant, thou, and thy seed after thee throughout their generations. This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; every male shall be circumcised. And ye shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of a covenant betwixt me and you." Paul refers to this in the fourth chapter of Romans, and says that circumcision was a token of the righteousness, that Abraham had while he was still in uncircumcision. Genesis 17:12, "And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you." Then he told them that he was changing his wife’s name from Sa-rai to Sarah, and she would be the mother of nations. Verse sixteen, "And I will bless her, and moreover I will give thee a son of her: Yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; and kings of people shall be of her. Then Abraham fell on his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is a hundred years old? And shall Sarah, that is ninety years old; bear?" Notice the faithfulness of Abram. Genesis 17:22, "And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham, and Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him." How many hundreds or thousands of men do you think were circumcised on that day? Do you remember Genesis 13:18 when Abraham took the three hundred and eighteen soldiers that were born in his house and confederated with some other great men of the land and went to rescue Lot and the people of Sodom? Think of three hundred and eighteen soldiers that had been born in his house. My what a house of servants Abraham had! When he moved it was like a whole community, like a village or small town moving. "But Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son. And all the men of his house, those born in his house, and those bought with money of the foreigners were circumcised with him." Acts 7:8, And he gave him the covenant of circumcision: And so Abraham begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day." See, it was another year when Isaac was born. "And Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob the twelve patriarchs." And we talked already about Isaac and Rebekah having the twin sons Jacob and Esau, but God chose that the Jewish people would be called through Jacob rather than through Esau. And I am going to close for tonight, and we will count Acts 7:9 as our beginning place for next Class Session. Thank you for your good attention.